


The Savitar Chronicles: Tempus Absolutum Unus

by noxcaelum



Series: The Savitar Chronicles [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Drama, Fixing what the writers broke, Gen, Not Beta Read, Series, Time Travel, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 14:43:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13526457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxcaelum/pseuds/noxcaelum
Summary: Between the beginning and the middle, there is an interlude.**COMPLETE**





	The Savitar Chronicles: Tempus Absolutum Unus

**THE SAVITAR CHRONICLES  
Tempus Absolutum Unus**

 

 **Unus  
** _Star City, 2017  
Christmas Eve _

 

“We can’t let this happen.”

Thea made an exasperated sound and looked over at Oliver. “What do you mean, ‘we can’t let this happen’? It’s already happened, hasn’t it?”

Oliver, Lyla, John, and Thea sat together in the Green Arrow’s headquarters, what Cisco dubbed his “Arrowcave.” Curtis was at the hospital, sitting with the still comatose Rene. Months after the events of Lian Yu, Iris’ death, and Barry’s angry doppelgänger and still none of them knew how to deal with the fallout. Lyla and Oliver filled in the rest of their surviving compatriots as soon as they were able to listen without their brains drenched in morphine.

“I don’t know, this is time travel, right? This Barry is from the future. We know something happens between now and then to turn his pain inward and make him into… what we saw.”

Thea dropped a hand from her mouth. “I don’t understand how we’re supposed to reconcile this with our Barry. I mean, he’s our friend, right? He’s our friend and a hero.”

“He’s also hurting,” said John. His tone was weary, that of a man who speaks from experience. “Who knows what that kind of pain will do to someone like Barry. He’s lost too many people and he doesn’t exactly deal well with loss.” They were all quiet for a moment, remembering how the loss of Barry’s father directly led to all of them living alternate lives. John shook his head. “I hate to be the one to say it, but I could see Barry becoming what we saw. I’ve seen good men turn bad before. The way I remember it, he was driven by anger and grief.”

“That’s not the way I remember it,” Lyla said, voice sharp. “Oliver, you’re not the one he threatened to kill. He threatened John, and me. It’s not anger that drives him, it’s hatred.”

Oliver sighed and looked at the ground, hands on his hips. “Barry doesn’t know how to hate.”

“Somewhere along the way, he learned.” There was no room in Lyla for forgiveness.

“Well, we need to stop it.” The rest of them just peered at Oliver, various levels of resignation in their eyes. Lyla’s expression was borderline hostile. Oliver didn’t begrudge her the anger she felt. Not only was she the director of A.R.G.U.S., she was a wife and mother with a husband and son to think about. A husband and son she would leave behind if anything happened to her.

Finally, John looked away from his wife and toward Oliver. “All right. How do we stop it?”

He took a breath. “Our first step should be to contact Barry in Central City. Form a more… permanent alliance.”

“What do you mean?” Thea leaned forward. “We’ve always worked together when we really needed each other.”

Oliver shook his head, pressing his lips together. “But we didn’t.” Head tilted down, he looked at the floor instead of them. “Felicity was the only one who knew everything going on in Central City and Felicity—” He stopped, closing his eyes. Felicity had never been found. “Felicity carried that burden alone. I was too caught up in my own problems to care, so she didn’t tell me.”

“Come _on_ , Ollie, you can’t blame yourself for not being there.” Thea stood and went to him, holding his arms in either of her smaller hands. “Your problems were all-encompassing. A madman went after you, your entire family, and all of your loved ones.”

“Yeah, and Barry wasn’t here for you, either,” Lyla pointed out.

“But that’s what I’m saying. Neither team was there for the other. That needs to stop. Now.”

The rest of them shared glances, and he was pretty sure they translated to _Oliver has lost his damn mind._

“What if that disconnect is part of what sends Barry down that road?” Oliver looked at them all in turn. “I can’t imagine Barry turning that… angry… as long as he has the support of his friends. I know Felicity would say the same.”

The mention of Felicity quieted all of them. Felicity had always been Barry’s biggest supporter and yes, she would absolutely fight for him now more than ever. Oliver could do no less, especially when he still had faith in Barry as a better kind of hero than he. They had to do everything in their power to make sure he stayed that way.

“I’ll call Cisco,” said Thea. “Maybe we can do a Christmas Eve conference call. But after that, we need to go to the Mayor’s Ball. Right?”

Oliver smiled at his little sister. “I thought you quit?”

“Being your chief of staff, not your sister.”

“Good.” He kissed her forehead and turned to the rest. His gaze landed on Lyla. “I need your support on this. All of you.”

She didn’t look happy, but eventually gave a curt nod. “If we can stop what happened—will happen—then I’m in favor.”

Thea patted him on the shoulder with a smile and went to Felicity’s computer. She called Cisco at S.T.A.R. Labs, holding out a hand of support and friendship for the coming year. For a moment in time, Oliver Queen was filled with peace.

He could not know that his timeline was set, that he lived in but one loop of an endless cycle and that when the future Barry ran out of his time further into the past, he ran into the next loop, leaving the old one set in stone and unchangeable. He could not know that no matter how hard they would try, none of them could do enough. There would always be new villains to fight, more demons to battle both internal and external, and one way or another their Barry would always run down the dark road toward his fate.

Toward Savitar.

* * *

**Secundi  
** _Somewhere in Time and Space  
The Waverider _

 

Barry wanders the halls and corridors of the time ship, taking it all in slowly. Even in the temporal zone, he moves fast enough that what passes for time outside himself seems to stop altogether. He doesn’t have to move so fast; the Legends will be gone for quite some time on this mission so he has all the time in the world even without super speed. Most likely, he also has enough clout with Gideon to command her not to mention his presence. He will invent her, after all.

It’s nice, though, to take a leisurely stroll without having to be concerned about potentially meddling AI. Especially because he doesn’t know exactly where to find what he’s looking for, only that it exists.

Eventually he finds it, of course, because it is inevitable. It is written.

Barry smiles as he steps inside Rip Hunter’s secret room with its secret weapons and secret message. He doesn’t touch the message center and its communication from his future self. No need to leave behind even digital footprints. Anyway, he knows what it says by heart, every single word. He cannot be trusted. The thought makes him laugh.

No, what he’s looking for is something Stein and Jax did not notice and would not have recognized if they had. He finds it, too, hidden in a secret safe in the secret room with its secret weapons. The innocuous little stone box with its not so innocuous prize.

He remembers how it came out later, much later, that Mick Rory had been seeing Snart around the Waverider. It makes perfect sense now, knowing what he knows. That’s how he knew he would find the box here, in this little room. He can only be grateful none of them knew what Rip had hidden here and that Rory was too proud to reveal what he thought was the deterioration of his sanity.

Barry lifts the box from its safe place and cradles it gently in one arm while the other closes the safe door. It melds seamlessly into the wall around it to become invisible. No one will even know it’s gone.

“Hello, Doctor Allen.”

“Gideon.” Barry sighs. He should have known this would happen.

“My sensors recorded a blip when you opened the safe so I recalibrated my vocal processors to function on your wavelength. I trust you have good reason for breaking in to Captain Hunter’s private collection.”

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“Excellent. I will alert Captain Lance to your arrival.”

“No.” This is going to be more difficult than he originally intended. “The team is busy, they don’t need the distraction.”

“They would benefit having you available to assist them in their current mission.”

“I wouldn’t want to mess with time, Gideon.”

A hesitation as the AI processes that information. “Of course, Doctor Allen.” Stunning, how a computer can sound so distrusting. He wonders if Gideon is entirely his own doing, or if centuries of additions to his original programming are actually responsible for this marvel of future technology.

“I never did understand how something I create ends up as the AI on a time ship. Maybe you can explain that to me.”

“It is a fascinating story, Doctor Allen. However, I believe you are attempting to change the subject.”

Surely his future self would not allow Gideon to leave his hands without taking precautions. He’s not a complete idiot. Barry smiles to himself, knowing that outside of his little time bubble only a fraction of time has passed. Even if Gideon decides to contact the Legends, the AI must do so in real time.

“Gideon?”

“Yes, Doctor Allen?”

He knows himself better than anyone. “Nora. Flash. Iris.”

“Doc—” She doesn’t even have time to finish protesting. There is a beep and a low-level screech reminiscent of old dial-up modem sounds before a moment of silence. Then Gideon’s voice returns, inflectionless and cold. “Welcome Doctor Bartholomew Allen. Program edit mode activated. Enter revisions when ready.”

Barry smiles.

* * *

**Tertium  
** _Somewhere in Time and Space_

 

Felicity cursed as one of the suits connectors sparked. Again. This thing was ten times more advanced than anything she had ever worked with before, but Barry expected her to work miracles.

“Not surprising,” she muttered to herself as she examined the fried connector. “They all expect miracles. Felicity the miracle-worker! Well there are some things even I can’t do, at least not without a state-of-the-art lab, twenty hot lab assistants, and thirty years.”

“Technically, you have all the time in the world.”

Felicity yelped. “Don’t _do_ that! This is going badly enough as it is without you sneaking up on me.” She looked over her shoulder to see the new Barry standing there, hands in his pockets, looking somewhat nonplussed. “I guess you’re not used to being talked to like that anymore or whatever super villains from the future say.”

“I’m not a villain, Felicity.” He steps inside the room and the door closes behind him. “I’m not Adrian Chase or Ra’s al Ghul. I’m a victim.”

She glared at him. “Right.” She tossed down the tool she’d been using and spun her chair to face him fully. “Listen, I’m in love with Oliver Queen. I know brooding angst when I see it and you don’t have nearly the same level of practice at it as Oliver, so let’s see what happens when you’re honest with me.”

He sat on the table, facing her, apprehension gleaming in his one brown eye. “You’re not like the rest of them. They’re all afraid of me. I want them to be afraid of me.”

“Well, tough cookies. I’m not afraid of you, Barry. I never will be.”

“Yes you will. I’ll make sure you do.”

“Why? Why do you want everyone to fear you so much? Why did you bring me here, what are you doing?”

He picked up one of her tools, flipped it around in his fingers for a moment, then used it to point at the suit of armor she was supposed to be programming. “Keep working, Felicity. That’s why I brought you here. To finish my armor. You know how I need it programmed.”

She grabbed the tool from him. “Yes, I do. But it doesn’t answer any of my questions.”

“What makes you think you deserve answers?”

“I’m the one programming this thing for you, right?”

“Work.”

“I’ll work if you talk.”

Whatever he was, he wasn’t prepared to deal with someone who talked back and wore a familiar face. Truth was, Felicity was terrified, but she knew better than to show her fear. Five years of dealing with criminals, fighters, and people with dark pasts taught her that to show her terror was to show her weakness. So no matter how much her insides trembled and her voice shook, she clenched her jaw and faced the bad guys head on.

She just never expected Barry to be one of the bad guys.

“I’m not Barry. I’m a time remnant. One that didn’t die.”

“That’s ridiculous, you’re still Barry.” She used the tool to solder two microwires together, then pushed away from the armor to the primitive keyboard which was all he would give her. “Time remnants are still you. There’s no effective difference.”

He laughed, low and not at all a happy sound. “It’s so strange how everyone in this time leaps to assure me I’m Barry, when everyone from my time couldn’t wait to push me out the door.”

“That can’t be true. We’re the same people.”

She glanced up in time to see him shake his head. “But you’re not. No one is the same. All of you are… different. For one thing, you’re dead.”

Her hands froze on the keys. His expression was completely dead, no indication of lies. “I’m… I’m dead?”

“When I come from, Adrian Chase killed you. You and everyone else in Oliver’s life.. Do you know why you survived?” Now he… well, it wasn’t exactly a smile. It was more of a smirk, one she would like to wipe right off his face. It didn’t belong there. “You survived because I coached Simon Morrison on what to do so I could pluck you from the timeline right before the island exploded. I needed you, so I saved you. Otherwise I would have let you die with the rest. Which reminds me.” He pointed at the armor. “Get back to work.”

Felicity turned away from him, taking a moment to process his words. She’d died in the timeline before he came back? She wanted to believe he saved her because they were friends, not just because he needed her.

“I can program most of what you want, but I can’t program ancient languages I don’t speak. Even if I did somehow speak ancient Sanskrit, it would take years for me to manually input all the words, syntax, and rules of grammar.” She shook her head not looking at him. “Everything else I can do.”

“You’ll do that, too. Let me introduce you to your translator.”

Barry rose and went to the door. Through it came a small, academic-looking fellow who smiled beatifically at Felicity. He bowed deeply to Barry and then less deeply to Felicity.

“Thank you,” he said,” thank you for giving me this opportunity.”

“I don’t understand.” Felicity glanced from one man to the other. “How does this help me?”

Barry went to the armor and patted the head. “The neurological interface in the armor will read the good professor’s thoughts and copy all of his knowledge, including his knowledge of ancient languages and their modern proto equivalents.”

“That could fry his brain. Barry, there’s about a ninety-seven percent chance doing that would kill him.”

“It’s all right, Miss Smoak.” The man’s smile didn’t help but instead sent a chill down her spine. “I will do anything my Lord Savitar requires of me and I will live forever with him.”

Felicity’s breath stopped. Yes, she’d known, but the reminder that this was _Savitar_ , with a cult of followers… for the first time she really absorbed the information and it felt like the floor dropped out from beneath her chair. She tried to stand but couldn’t find her balance.

“This is not happening, you are _not_ Savitar.” She held up a hand to stop him from speaking, to which he raised an eyebrow. “Savitar kills Iris. You would never—you _could_ never—”

“I already have.”

Her heart broke inside her.

Barry stepped closer and leaned over, _loomed_ over her. “Not me, exactly. Another version of me killed her while you were gallivanting around an island waiting to be Oliver’s Iris. I’m not quite there yet, but I will be.”

“No.”

Felicity shook her head again. Between the violent head shakes and the way these revelations left her light-headed, she felt like her head would spin off completely. None of this made any sense to her. Oh, it make intellectual sense. She understood the concepts of time travel better than Oliver or John, even if she didn’t grasp them quite as firmly as Barry or another speedster. It didn’t make sense in the deepest part of her soul, the place that recognized Barry Allen as the best of friends and the purest of heroes.

“Yes.” He took her by the shoulders and spun her around to face the computer again. “Iris is dead, I am Savitar, and you will do as you’re told. Never forget, Felicity Smoak, that I know the names of your mother, your best friend, and the man you love. I can destroy it all in the blink of an eye.”

She couldn’t speak but she shook her head again.

“Remember,” he said, “remember when you made a choice to kill tens of thousands of people to save hundreds of thousands?” She felt the heat of his breath on her ear as he spoke. “Do it again. One person—two, if you count Iris—to save those closest to you.”

Felicity blinked back tears. The broken pieces of her heart shuddered and shattered all over again.

* * *

**Quartum  
** _On the Edge of Time and Space_

 

He stands on the precipice of a new world—or a new world for him, at least. Wrapped in the electric power and speed needed to run further back in time than he has ever run, he truly feels like a god.

He can also feel the Speed Force trembling in the ether. It wants so badly to reach out and wipe him from the universe. He and it both know it can’t, he is too integral to the structure of this timeline. This endless causal loop of time that winds in and around itself to infinity. Erasing him would cause it all to unravel and the Speed Force cannot knowingly cause the collapse of time. So it roils and seethes and can do nothing except watch the consequences of his existence unfurl again and again and again.

_Run, Barry. Run._

The voice in his head is an amalgamation of all the people who have ever encouraged him to run: his mother, Harrison Wells, Iris, Joe, even Snart and Killer Frost. All of them come together to urge him onward to his final destiny.

_Run._

He runs.

He runs to a past where no one knows him, he runs to meet the first Alchemy, a man who sees the gleam of his armor and the speed with which he moves and bows at his feet. The way it should be.

“Who are you?” the man asks.

He smiles behind the mask of his armor. “I am Savitar, the god of speed. Serve me well and I give you more power than you can imagine.”

The armor’s programming works perfectly. He speaks English, out comes a close approximation to spoken Vedic Sanskrit. Despite having no guarantee of success, the man seems to understand him well enough. Enough to promise his life to this new god. Savitar is aware the man speaks more out of fear than respect or desire for power, but he also knows that will change.

It is written.

“Take this,” he says, handing the man the box and the stone of calcified Speed Force inside. “This is the source of your power. Protect it with your life and I shall protect you, always. Gather followers. When you open the box I shall appear and tell you what to do.”

The man reaches forth with trembling hands and takes the box. “I will,” he promises, bowing his head. “I will, Lord Savitar.”

“When you die, if there is no one you trust to pass it to, bury it in a secret place and I will guide a worthy one to find it.”

“Yes, Lord Savitar.”

“From this day forward you will wear your given name in the daylight, but at night and with your brethren who follow me you will be known only by the name I give you now: Alchemy.”

The name will translate. Of course it will. It is written. All of this has happened before and will continue to happen again and again in endless cycle. One day this box will find the last Alchemy, a heartbroken man who will take it to Central City and set in motion the events that lead to his birth.

But let it be known he was the author of its placement.

Savitar is not created by anyone else. He creates himself.

END.

 

 **Savitar’s story will continue!** Watch for the next story in _The Savitar Chronicles: The First Book of Flash._ ~~ETA: May, 2018.~~ Late June, 2018.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a labor of hatred and anger as much as love. I wish it weren't so, but if the writers' handling of the Savitar storyline in season three of THE FLASH hadn't been completely bungled and left me angrier than I've been in a long time at something I love, we wouldn't be here. I love the ARROWVERSE, as silly as it is, but I hate the way Savitar's story ended and I am angry that the writers dropped their own thematic balls in the end. Hence: THE SAVITAR CHRONICLES.
> 
> There's a lot of time travel and causal time loops and multiple universes and timelines going on here. I've thought a lot about all of it, but to mix fandoms, I stand with Miles O'Brien and his hatred of temporal mechanics. We non-speedsters can only understand so much. I've done my best, but there are still likely to be holes that cannot be patched.
> 
> Looking for a reliable and communicative beta. Contact me if interested.


End file.
